Monday, 23 September 2013

This week, I would like you to share the text connections you found while reading during Friday's class. Use the headings down below to share two text connections that you found. This week we are not using "Twitter" format, and as such you should be explaining your connections in a paragraph length response.

Once you have posted your 2 text connections, you can spend the remainder of class time working on your blog for my first visit on Wednesday.

One text to text connection I had was when Zoe and her teacher are going out and doing other thing. And it almost feels like they are kind of in a relationship but they are not. It reminded me of pretty little liars when Ezra and aria are seeing each other. I think it reminded me of it because it is a student- teacher relationship and it is inappropriate but it still seems to go on. Even though the characters involved in it know that it is wrong. So the way the characters treat the relationship made me realize how similar the two situations are.

"The Twilight Watch" (85) A text to self connection that I had towards the main character Anton was the fact that Anton works a long way from his family. The career that I am currently trying to pursue is freelance journalism. I realize that I will be away from home for long periods of time. So I feel that this is almost a parallel to my future; being far away from my loved ones so I can make a paycheck.

One of the text to self connections I made was when one of the characters talks about working on a saturday night. To me this is very familiar because I always end up with the crappy 4-12 shift on Saturday nights.the worst part about those shifts is that after your done work it's almost to late to go out and hang out with anyone. The other terrible part is you are to tired to want to hang out with anyone. So I know what she means by hating working Saturday night. I think the worst part about working on a late Saturday night is I'm normally off Friday nights and my boyfriend works Fridays and I work Saturday night and he's off so it sucks that were on opposites. It reminds me about how she can't hang out with her friends because she can't go to work.

T-S. One text to self connection I made was at near the end of Divergent when Tris had to shoot Will because of the serum that would have Will kill her even though they had been friends. It isn't like I have been forced to kill a friend or anyone, but it reminded me of cutting out the people in your life that aren't good for you despite having your good moments. Tris shot Will because it was one of those you-or-me situations. I needed to do what was better for me, even if it did hurt the both of us. It happens sometimes but we should all be thankful that we will most likely never be put in an actual situation like the one Tris was in.

T-T. Also near the end of Divergent I found a text to text connection. I related when Tris was on the train with her friends and brother heading to Amity headquarters to Mockingjay when Katniss was travelling on a train also with other soldiers to take down a different, corrupted government. The two scenes are very much the same to me. Both heroines are going into a difficult situation, on trains nonetheless. Even though Katniss was heading to a camp in a district and Tris was heading towards the Amity, they both had the goal of stopping what the main forces in the government wanted to do. I think these two texts were the same because of the dystopian type of books that they are.

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" (80) One text to self connection I had while reading occured when Charlie was creating a playlist for his friend Particks secret Santa gift. While Charlie was creating it he put songs that reminded him of a memory. Listening to a old song always reminds me of the past. Some songs once they start playing I automatically go back to that time when I listened to it. For example whenever I hear Holiday by Vampire Weekend it reminds me of grade eight when I would listen to it while I was doing my homework.

Text to Text connection i had was when the were talking about the boston red sox was a fall team. Meaning in the spring and mid summer wasn't their time, the had fewer losts in the spring. That"s when they were just trying to figure things out.

"Room" (90) The first text connection I found was a text to world connection. The morning after Jack hears his mom and Old Nick fighting he notices "marks" on his mom's neck, these marks were later described as though they were bruises. The connection I found was the connection between female abuse in the real world and also in the book. Women are abused by men in the real world on a day to day basis and one of the topics "Room" covers is just that. When Old Nick and Jack's mom have a fight, the next morning Jack sees the bruises on her neck and the reader assumes they were from Old Nick.

Text to Text connection i had was when the were talking about the boston red sox was a fall team. Meaning in the spring and mid summer wasn't their time, the had fewer losts in the spring. That"s when they were just trying to figure things out and by fall they were a completely different team. Some teams were scared to face Boston when it was getting close to playoffs cause they know Boston are one of the best team at that time.

the book I'm reading is tweak and I'm in page 71. I had a text to self while reading about how Nic got ripped off by a guy named Joe. Joe said that he would get a bunch of crystal if Nic gave him 200 dollars but just took the money and ran off. it reminded me of the time where me and my friends were going to a party and we had to buy "pizza". when we gave the guy our money for the pizza we got 20 dollars change back but when we got back to the party we realized we should have gotten at least 50 dollars back. I could relate to how nick felt when he was talking about that feeling of being taken advantage of and just loosing your money when you could have spent it on something that you wanted. It sucked.

Text to self Beatrice lost her family in book 1 but in book 2 she still have memories about them. I could relate because it could be my family because I love them so much just like Beatrice loves hers. Beatrice was very sad she lost her family and she won't forget and I would react same way.

One text to text connection I found related to a number of books. In "Wither" Rhine is a strong-willed teenage girl, who won't except her fate and is determined to change what is going on around her. She is emotional, smart, and is ready to sacrifice everything for the ones she loves. Rhine reminds me of a number of characters from other novels I have read such as Katniss from "The Hunger Games" and Cassia from "Matched." They all have been placed into worlds where they can not make there own choices but are determined to change the outcome by beating the system. All three are strong female protagonists, who put their lives on the line for what is right. Both Katniss and Cassia have the same personality traits as Rhine, which is why I find a text to text connection with this books.

"Uglies" (406) When I read about the smoke, it reminded me of District 13 in "The Hunger Games." The smoke is where rebel uglies who don't want to become pretty can run away to, and escape from the operation and the authorities to live a fair, peaceful life. In "The Hunger Games", District 13 rebelled and the Capitol tricked all the other districts into believing that they destroyed District 13 to prevent a future rebellion. They actually didn't destroy District 13, and rebels from districts all around can try and escape the unfair authority of the Capitol, by running away to District 13. These are similar because both places are rebellious toward the authorities in their dystopian era. They are both a place of refuge for run aways and a place that seeks a fair life.

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" (80) One text to world connection is Charlie. Charlie is a typical freshman trying to find who he is. Dealing with family issues, fitting in and high school crushes. Many kids find out who they really are in high school. They find their passions and their friends. Charlie is a perfect example of what all the other teenagers are going through in their high school years. At the beginning Charlie was all by himself but slowly he is making friends and finding out who he is.

"BZRK" (112)One text to self connection I had while reading occurred when Noah came to america for the first time and he was mentioning how he might think that the whole situation with Nijinsky and his insane brother about the secret organization BZRK. Noah was thinking it was a huge elaborate joke, and this reminded me when a few of my friends got into pretty serious car crash and I thought it was all a joke but soon enough i found out it was real.

Time of my Life (117) A text to self-connection occurred to me when Jill was at the party in her past life and met Henry, from her current life. Without him introducing himself, she knew his name. Henry was very confused at this because at that time he had never met Jill. This has happened to me before where perhaps you have seen someone’s pictures on Instagram or Facebook you know things about them even though you’ve never spoken to them before. However, I don’t recall of a specific situation in which I have confronted this person, like Jill did in the story. There is still that awkward relationship that exists with those people, because you know things that they don’t know you know.

"Street Pharm" (42) A text to self connection that I had towards the main character ty is that he is a working man, he works hard at what he does. I am currently working for the Winnipeg sun going door to door trying to get people to buy the paper, in order for me to do this I have to work hard and keep a straight mind.

"The Twilight Watch" (89) The text to text connection that I found while reading was between two characters. The character of Semyon reminds me of the character Tam Lin from the book "House of the Scorpion." Semyon is wise, whole-hearted, and kind, but regretful for not doing more in his youth. He wants to change the things that he cannot, and he goes to extreme lengths to seek self-redemption. Tam Lin is also wise and kind, but a little more humble than Semyon. Tam Lin is regretful for the things he's done and is also seeking self-redemption.

"Room" (90) A text to self connection I found while reading, was when Jack's mom started to feel like she would never leave their "house". On page 82 after Old Nick had turned all the amenities off, Jack's mom really started to feel the effects of being locked in the room. For the first time in the book, we see Jack's mom start to open up about her life before being locked away, she starts breaking down and reminisces about her family. I can relate to how Jack's mom feels because sometimes when I can't leave my house for whatever reason, I start to get cabin fever and go a little crazy. Jack's mom starts to miss every little thing from her life prior to being put into the room. I think the author is foreshadowing Jack and his mom escaping "room" and returning to her life from before being locked away.

Tricks (294) When i read about the falling out between Whitney and her parents about religion, i thought about the book Burned by the same author, Ellen Hopkins. The difference is that Burned is a book based on struggles with religion, whereas in Tricks its just a minor detail.In both of them, basically the parents raised them to follow a certain religion. When they grow old enough to understand, they rebel against the religion and go their separate ways.

A text to self connection that I found related to Jenna, one of the other girls in the house. Before she was taken away she was with her sister, and knowing that they are gone has made her depressed to the point that she would rather die than love someone again. Although, I can not directly relate this her exact feeling, I have feel empathy for her. I could never imagine loosing my sister, that would be unbearable to me. She is one of the closest people to me, and I know that almost all sisters have this same connection. I completely understand what Jenna would be going through, it would be impossible to move on after loosing someone so important in life, especially at my age. I don't know if I would react in the same way she has because her situation is extreme and I could never imagine being in her shoes, but I do know that would never wish Jenna's situation on anyone. No one deserves what has happened to her and the way her family has been torn apart.

Uglies (406) Listening to the way Shay talks about pretties and her perspective of it makes me think about the modelling industry in our society, and the way people (specifically women) are “supposed” to look. In the book, everyone has the operation when they turn 16 making them all have the same features, without any character in their looks. They are taught that they need to all have tall, slender legs, big eyes, long eyelashes, tiny waists, perfect skin, and high cheekbones. This made me think about the way the modelling industry photo shops their models, or even chooses who they will hire as a model. If they don’t have high enough cheek bones or big enough eyes, they can fix that with the click of a mouse. It engineers them to all have the same look about them. This is exactly the way the operation works in the book. The surgeons turn you to look like everyone else, in a sense.

"shoot Basket!" (21) a text to self connection is that it reminds me of my childhood playing basketball with my family and listening to my dad always yelling at me to "shoot". another connection is in 4 playing "mathketball" in math class and whenever someone would get a question right the class would yell "shoot basket".

"Will Grayson, Will Grayson" (310) One text to self connection I had while reading this book was how Tiny was being such a horriblel friend to Will. He never listens to Will, he's always texting when Will is talking to him, and then he'll cut him off to talk about his problems, or he will put Will down by telling him how his problems are dumb and insignificant. Everything is always about Tiny. I have a friend that used to be like that to me. She would always talk about herself, and her own problems, and never take the time to listen to me. I always felt like she never cared about me, and she was just using me as a garbage can to dump all of her problems on. She's gotten a lot better, but I can still relate to Will in this way.

I'm reading the book tweak (71). my text to text is when i read about Nic going to a big gay orgy to pay for his crystal meth habit. while I was reading that it made me think of that song by Ed Sheeran (the a team) where he sings about a girl selling herself for crystal meth. it was pretty much the exact same story and it made me think about how often that must actually happen. to be honest i couldn't think of a worst way to live. thinking about that literally makes me feel sick to my stomach

Text to text In the book there is a part where they are running into the corn fields.this reminds a song pop up into my mind .The song of the war of 1812 one of the parts of the song goes like this they run through the snow and through the forest and run through the bushes where the beavers wouldn't go . That song is by the angry worms and Johnny Horton .

"The Twilight Watch" (89) The character of Anton (outside of the fact that he has supernatural powers) is an average person. he works a job, takes care of his family, argues with his bosses ridiculous orders, and he drinks to solve his problems. He reminds me of a lot of adults and even teenagers that I've grown up with.

"Will Grayson, WIll Grayson" (310) One text to text connection I found while reading this book is that Will #2 doesn't want to get attached to the people he cares about. He's afraid that they'll leave because they think his problems are too much too handle, and he doesn't want to weigh them down with his own problems. This is very similar to another John Green character, Hazel Grace from The Fault In Our Stars. She has cancer, and doesn't want to get attached to Augustus because she doesn't want him to concern himself about her, or to leave her when he learns all of her issues. She also doesn't want to leave a mark on him (or anyone for that matter) when or if she dies. Will and Hazel both don't want to get attached, and they remind me of each other.

Time of My Life (117) A text to text connection occurred to me as I started to realize how similar this book is to the movie 13 Going on 30. The main character is traveling to a different point of their life. The difference between 13 Going on 30 and Time of My Life is that in the book, she is going back in time whereas in the movie she is going into the future. Due to this, Jenna (13 Going on 30) is an immature 13 year old living in a 30 year old's life and Jill (Time of My Life) is using her maturity that she’s gained over the years to deal with problems from her past. This makes quite a difference in the way that these two characters act throughout the story, even though the main idea of the two stories is quite similar.

The Art of Racing in the Rain (310) - One text to self connection I had with this book is after Eve passed away and Denny was trying to gain custody of Zoe. I could really relate to Zoe because when I was the same age as her, my parents were going through a divorce and I felt sad, angry and confused because I kept switching from house to house. At the time I wasn't really sure what was happening but I knew I still wanted to see both of my parents equally. I felt so bad for Zoe and Denny when they couldn't see each other, but thankfully he now has full custody. It was an emotional part of the book to go through because I could relate and remember how hard it was to be stuck in the middle.

"The Girl Who Played With Fire" (326)A text to self connection I had while I was reading was when Miriam gets back from visiting her parents in Paris and finds out that her roommate hasn't been heard from for quite some time and is a prime suspect for three brutal murders. Nothing quite that dramatic has ever happened to me, but it seems that whenever I'm away from home, even for a fairly short time, all of a sudden important things happen in the lives of my loved ones and I don't find out about any of them until I get back.

"The Girl Who Played With Fire" (326)A text to world connection I had while reading was when the press are trying to weasel as much information as they can out of Miriam regarding what she may or may not know about Salander and the murders. They call her at all hours and visit her apartment several times a day in an attempt to get information out of her. That reminded me of how certain reporters in real life can get quite obnoxious when they want a story.

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (99) so far I like this waaay more than my last book! In the book there are peace negotiations happening between the downworlders and the nephilim. Reading of them quickly reminded me of the situation in Siria where the USA is trying to negotiate with their government to prevent attacks and war. Or any war situation really.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (27). Clary has a fight with her parents about how she wants to spend her summer. She wants to go to an art class while her mother makes plans to go to a farm for the remainder with Clary. I have so many simple fights like this with my parents it's unreal and half the time I don't even remember them two days later! It's amazing how important things may seem at the time but I find that most times it's just me trying to get the last word

“The Notebook” (58)A text to self-connection I found while reading was when the author was explaining the characteristics Noah looked for in a girl and how Allie exemplified these characteristics. The traits that Noah looked for were intelligence, confidence, strength of spirit, passion, and traits that inspired people to greatness. One of the reasons Noah looked for these characteristics was he inspired all these traits on himself as well. I feel this is a great example of a text to self-connection because these qualities are what I look for in guys. I feel like the qualities that you look for in yourself are the qualities that you want to look for in a spouse, because you want to be able to have actual conversations with them. It’s also nice to see that appearance and looks isn’t everything to Noah. Yes we already know that Noah finds Aliie beautiful but it’s nice to see that her looks aren’t everything. That is something that is also very important to me. Personality is one of the biggest things I look for in people. So I think that Noah and I are very similar in what we find attractive in spouses.

My friend Leonard (86) Text to text connectionFrom this book to James Frey's first book, A million little pieces, I figured that it would be relatively the same concept of the first book, as in how he was trying to stay off drugs, trying to start a new life, thinking about the future, changing for the better. It’s different because once he finished rehab and did his time in jail, he came back to his love Lilly which was his "only reason for living" but he realizes that he can live without her and go on with life and be as happy as possible without the love and comfort from Lilly. In the last book, James feels hopeless, worthless and pretty much like nothing and that he can do nothing good for the world. He felt not important, not needed in life, unwanted. I feel now he’s starting to think positively on life rather than pessimistic about everything, and changing for the better.

This reminds me of ways of dealing with stressful situations. James cannot drink nor do drugs, therefore all he can do is cry. I like how he lets out all the tears if he needs too. If he needs to cry he will, and when he has to bite his tongue and hold it back, he does. Reminds me of myself because I don’t like letting people into my problems if they are not going to care enough. I won’t cry in front of many people. But if I need to cry, there’s no stopping me. He reminds me of myself also because he’s a very strong person, but sensitive on the inside and when things get hard, he turns into a softy.

“The Notebook” (58)A text to world connection I found while reading was when the author was talking about Noah’s past, and how he had been in Patton’s Third Army during WW2. I was interested to find out if this was an actual army in the war, so I looked it up and found that it was. Patton’s Third Army was under the lead of General George S. Patton Jr. one of the greatest generals to ever been known in all of history. This army did a number of things including liberating the Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration camp and advancing further in less time than any other army in history. It’s nice to see that the author used an actual army instead of making one up. I feel it makes the story more authentic and more believable and that readers can better connect with the characters and story itself.

The Art of Racing in the Rain (310) - A text to text connection I had during this book was when Eve is sadly faced with brain cancer and she knows she doesn't have long to live. I am currently reading another book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" and the character Morrie receives the news that he has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and he too will pass soon. Both these books sound depressing, but it is actually interesting to see how Eve and Morrie deal with death. Even at very different points in their lives, these characters are similar because you can see how very strong, courageous and loving people they are. At first it is very hard on both of them and they don't know how to cope with their news. However, as you continue reading Eve and Morrie learn to accept their passing and try and focus on others around them.

Gandalf and Aragorn were talking to Surman about things when they got this black crystal ball from someone who just threw it out the window and it landed by Pippin but as soon as it landed they got it they put this cloth over it and decided to hide it form the Hobbits because they knew that it was something that was not to be played with. As they were resting for their next adventure the next dayPippin couldn’t sleep knowing that something he wanted to know about was just sitting there not really being guarded by anyone. In the middle of the night Pippin decided to sneak over to where the crystal ball was sitting right beside Gandalf and took it and look into it but as he looked into it there was fire, everything was spinning and then suddenly a loud scream. Pippin dropped it and tried to run away but Gandalf got him and Pippin got in trouble because he wasn’t supposed to touch it because it was dangerous. My Text to Self connection was that I have gotten a little too curious with knowing there was something that I couldn’t know about so at night I decided that I was going to snoop around looking for it and eventually I found it and it was a Christmas present for me and I tried to put it back very quietly and go back upstairs but when I turned around I got in trouble from my mother who was standing right behind me as I was trying to put it back and I got in trouble.

My Text to Text connection is that when Pippin was getting in trouble with being too curious with the black crystal ball when I was reading the book called Zombie blondes. his girl was going to a new school and was trying to make friends but she noticed that everyone had blonde hair and blue eyes they also had the same skin tone and everything. So one day after school she decided that she was going to look around the school and maybe go to the cheerleading try outs but when she found the people turned out to be Zombies and they would do things to their skin and hair and make sure they were the same and make them look like zombies (which I don’t understand how) when she figured out what they were they turned her into one.

Sinner (121)t:tIn Sinner, the character Darcey is very cautious and strong willed. Darcey reminds me a lot of Katniss from The Hunger Games. In Sinner, Darcey is presented with an attractive male that she used to have a crush on. Darcey is intent on not letting her guard down so that she won't get hurt. Katniss also is focused on not letting her guard down when Peeta shows that he likes her.

A text to world connection that I found was about Washington D. C. Darcey and Billy were taken to D. C. by Kinnard in order to protect them. After finding out that Billy and Darcey had exceptional "powers", Kinnard was asked to bring them to D. C. to show them to the political leaders that would be in charge of their protection. This reminds me of different situations in which political leaders of the world have had to step in to protect certain individuals.

The Book Thief (117) In this book right now, it is taking place in Germany in 1939. This is the time period where Hilter was in power along with the Nazi government. Hitler has declared war on Poland and this little girl Lisel is having to live in these troubled times. There was a really small part in the book where they are talking about Russia and Stalingrad. This part of the book triggered a Text to Self-connection. In history right now, we are actually learning about Russia and how Stalin is in power. We are learning about Russia in the exact same time period. I find this interesting because the Russians are sensing that there is going to be a war soon and they are trying to prepare and protect themselves. It kind of like learning from 2 different perspectives.

The Book Thief (117) For some reason this book is kind of reminding me of the Hunger Games. This is a Text to Text connection. I find that Lisel, having to live in a time period where her situation isn’t very great, it is almost similar to Katniss’s in the Hunger Games. Lisel is having to live with Hitler in power and times are dangerous for her. She only has her foster family and she misses her brother and mother. Her brother is dead and her mother was taken away. This reminds me of the Hunger Games because the government in control is not a good one either. They are making young children fight to the death for other people’s entertainment. Katniss and her sister are also in danger of participating in these “games.” Katniss is also suffering because her dad is dead and she gets taken away from her mother and her 12 year old sister.

A text to world connection that I had while reading this book, is when Megan has her miscarrage. In the present day of Jill's life we know that after Megan had her miscarrage, she downward spirals into depression and eventually dies in a car accident. This made me think of the real world because this can happen when women lose their babies. They think it's their fault when in reality, those things just happen sometimes.

"Water4Elephants"(89) I wasn't really able to connect to my book at the start. I was wondering when i was going to be able to relate and compare myself to the main character Jacob. Eventually i found a text to self connection. The main character in my novel feels very unwelcome and out of place. Everyone is treating him different. This reminds me of when i moved schools in grade 5. I felt very unwelcome because i had no idea who anyone was. I don't know for sure if this is how he felt but i have an idea and can relate to the character Jacob.

"Sticky Fingers" (173) - Jenna is currently super stressed out about going to Harvard after high school and I can totally relate because I'm also in my senior year. She's really stressed about if that's what she actually wants and how hard she has to work to keep her grades up. Right now, I'm so stressed out about school because I need more courses to get into university and I have to get good grades. Everything is just so difficult to balance in my life right now and I have little breakdowns often (like Jenna) so yeah, I guess you could say we're similar in that way.

"Sticky Fingers" (173) - Jenna's best friend, Courtney is showing subtle signs of an eating disorder and that reminds me of "Handle with Care" by Jodi Picoult because Anna (one of the main characters) also develops an eating disorder throughout the book. Both Courtney and Anna develop bulimia due to stress and change that happens in their lives. Courtney's parents divorce and Anna's separate, Courtney is trying to get into college, Anna's little sister is constantly in and out of the hospital, they both have boy problems. I just found it interesting that they were quite similar in that way.

I'm also surprised I even remember those details since I haven't read "Handle with Care" in years..

The Best of me (115). One of the text to self connections I had while reading this book was to do with Amanda and her mother. Amanda’s mother was getting very worried because Amanda had not shown up at her house on the night she’d said she would and she had no way of contacting her. She had started to over- think everything and get very worried. In this part of the book Amanda’s mother reminded me of myself. I have a tendency to over-think things too and get very worried. My brain immediately goes to worst-case scenario.

The Night Circus, I'm not particularly far into the book and there are still a lot of unanswered questions but it seems to be that two children with special "powers" are going to compete against each other when they're older in some kind of "game". They however do not seem to have the choice of whether they want to participate or not. This reminded me of the Hunger Games. I had this text to text connection because I remembered that in the Hunger Games there were also children forced to participate in a sort of "game".

Text to self connection: The book that I'm reading is The Chain Letter by Christopher Pike and I can relate to the main character because she's ambitious and has set goals for herself (university etc.). She also only has a couple close friends like me and we both enjoy shopping and reading. She is also very independant and likes to handle things by herself and in her own way nobody elses. We are also both stubborn and think we are always right. We are both the leader of our groups of friends and we don't really have an interest with sports. We are both brave and trustworthy.

A text to world connection I found was when Huck attended a dinner hosted by a family, and the girls were saying bad things about the food so other people would disagree to make them feel better. I thought this was a perfect text-world example, as theres a little thing called "fishing for compliments". I thought this was a great relation to people these days who post photos saying things like "i'm ugly" and wait for people to disagree.

A text to self connection I found while reading was when Huck plays a prank on Jim. Jim is obviously very upset by this prank, and Huck feels a bit of guilt afterwards. This is a text to self as I feel bad if I do something that makes someone upset. Huck didn't mean to make Jim upset, and I have sometimes found myself in situations where I didn't mean to upset someone. It's incredibly easy for me to feel bad about hurting someones feelings, because I know that if it was me, I'd feel bad as well.

One text to self connection that I had while reading was when the initiates had to get needles to go through the simulations. It happened a lot during the book since that was a main part of the story, and each time I kept thinking how if I was in that position it would be so hard for me to go through it since I don't like thinking about getting needles.

Another text to self connection I had was when Christina got the flag when they were playing Capture the Flag, and she kind of took credit for it and smirked at Tris. My connection isn't 100% exactly like this, with the whole capture the flag thing, but I had this old friend who would sometimes take credit for things that I did, which was annoying.

The book that I'm reading (The Chain Letter 2) connects to the world because murders happen everyday in our world. People also get threatened everyday mostly through social network sites but the book was published in the 1900's. So people were still threatened but with letters back then. Alison and her friends got threatened by letters and some of her friends got murdered. This book also connects to the world because miracles happen everyday. Alison looks to be dead but she comes back alive. People are lucky to survive from many accidents just like Alison's death was an accident.

Leavingdirtyjersey(130) a text to self connection i had while reading this book is the fact that James seems to be very independent , does not enjoy help from any one else and me ? i don't have the extra help , everything i have, i have to work for myself and also he is easy to get a long with which iv'e been told i am as well .

Tweak (157) - I found myself really relating to the main character Nic in the novel. Although he is addicted to Meth and numerous other drugs I find to be able to relate to his witty sense of wisdom and deep thought process. I agree with a lot things Nic says throughout the novel, at one point he is having an internal debate on whether being an addict is really worth all the trouble or is getting clean worth all the trouble. I have never been in his position but i get what he is saying.. numerous times i find myself really wondering if a lifestyle choice I am pursuing is going to be worth it in the end. Nic also tends to keep friends for long periods of time no matter what he has gone through, I also am i exactly like this. I have had the same friend for 14 years now and through everything in both of our lives we have managed to stay as close as we have been and our friendship is growing stronger everyday. Nic has a lot of wisdom and although he puts himself in crappy situations he tries his best to not change himself as a person completely and I think that's a value many can take from.

Tweak (157) - A text to world connection I found in tweak is that no matter what you put yourself through its good to stick to your morals and not change yourself for others. Nic is a young drug addict and although living on the streets and spending his free time thinking about when he is going to get his next fix is not anyones ideal situation it also doesnt make him a "bad" person. Throughout the book Nic basically stays the same person, although always growing and expanding his mindset he doesn't completely change what he is actually about. I think that's something everyone can learn from, it's great to always be learning and forming new opinions but you shouldn't be changing what you initially believe in. Many people say "Stick to your guns" and I agree, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and changing yours just to be like someone else isn't staying true to yourself.

"Freshieing" or "hazing" has become a much larger problem in our world than it was in previous years. What happened to Myles is a pretty good example of that. He was taken from his room in the middle of the night, striped down, taped up and thrown into the lake. What may have started as a harmless "joke" could have ended very badly, which is something I don't think young people now a days really take into consideration. Like they say it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, but really is it fun for everyone? Would you wanted to be hazed? Have you been? A simple prank is one thing, but putting someone's life at risk is a whole nother story.

Text to self

I can relate to Myles on the fact that I also went to a new school that I didn't know a single person. It was scary but unlike him I at least got to leave at the end of the day and go home to people I did know. Myles decided he wanted to leave his school and go to a boarding school for pretty unclear reasons. A boarding school that didn't know a single person, hundreds of miles from home. Starting at a new school is a nerve racking thing to do even when you are going with a group a friends, but doing it alone is a completely different story. But like him, I found that it really isn't all that bad, you just have to keep an open mind and be open to new friends.